Broadcast Award for documentary about Deaf teen’s campaign for a BSL GCSE

A documentary following Deaf teenager Daniel Jilling’s campaign for a GCSE in BSL has won a prestigious Broadcast Award for best Children’s Programme.

I Want to Change the World was Produced and Directed by Sebastian Cunliffe, and was made by Drummer TV. It was commissioned by BSLBT and shown on the BSL Zone.

It can be seen here on the BSL Zone website.

The Broadcast Awards summary says:

It won out over its higher-profile rivals because of how powerfully it connected with the judges. According to one, the film, made entirely in BSL, shows “the genuine emotional journey of a child who wants to be an equal part of the world around him”.

I Want To Change The World aired on Film 4, Together Channel and the BSL Zone website. Its self-shooting PD, Sebastian Cunliffe, who is also profoundly deaf and a BSL user, worked with Daniel to ensure the film captures his determination and drive, and encourages the audience to get behind him on his mission.

“Congratulations to Daniel and the PD for making something so groundbreaking,” said one judge. “Daniel is a wonderful presenter and I look forward to seeing what they both do next.”

Instead of using a voiceover, producer Drummer TV subtitled the sign language to make the film accessible for a non-BSL-speaking audience.

That prompted another judge to praise the programme “for showing that sign language is also a language, and that content made in sign language can also work with subtitles for a general audience”.

The Producer Director of the documentary, Sebastian Cunfliffe, said on Facebook:

Still pinching myself… Have we really won a Broadcast Award? YES!! Yes and yes!!

Special thanks to Daniel and his mum for opening their hearts and sharing their journey with us. Also thank you Rachel Drummond-Hay and Tamsin Summers for supporting this idea wholeheartedly.

A big thank you to Kerena Marchant (the commissioner at the time) for taking a risk and agreeing to no voiceover for the progamme, a decision which the judges said was “groundbreaking…for showing that content made in sign language can also work with subtitles for a general audience”.

Obviously most of us know this already… but at least now a few more people in the TV industry do! We all need more BSL on mainstream TV, in dramas, in soaps, BSL newsreaders, etc, etc.

BSL is *British*, it’s a wonderful language, it’s Deaf people’s gift to our country, anybody and everybody should be able to learn it, most of all starting in schools! Roll on that BSL GCSE.

Next… A BSL Act? #BSLGCSE #BritishSignLanguage #BSLAct #morebslontv #stoplanguagedeprivation